Typical bows for the use of shooting arrows come in many shapes and sizes, as well as vary in design and shape, from a traditional recurve style that relies on the elastic deformation and spring properties of the upper and lower limbs. The string attached to the distal ends, when pulled in a rear direction, causes the two distal ends to draw together and results in an elastic deformation thus storing potential energy, whereupon release of the string allows the upper and lower limbs to snap back to an original configuration drawing the string forward rapidly. Thus, transferring the stored potential energy into kinetic forward energy which causes an arrow being attached to the string to be accelerated forward. An arrow resting at the central portion of the string is then launched forward at a rapid rate upon release of the string.
While the bow and arrow style system allows for extremely high repeatability and accuracy between shots, they also have numerous limitations. For example, the draw distance is greatly limited by the shaft length of the arrow. For the system to function properly, the arrow must be able to extend from the string to where the arrow rests in the handle portion of the bow at the fully drawn distance. As such the amount of potential energy which is allowed to be stored can be significantly limited. Further, these long shafts can be difficult or otherwise cumbersome to store and transport without bending the shafts
Sling shots or other sling-style launchers or shooters rely on a tensile spring action in conjunction with a pouch in order to accelerate and launch a typically smaller projectile. In such systems, the sling carrying the intended projectile is attached to a cradle using a linear style spring or resilient band system. In this way, as the sling is drawn back from the cradle, the resilient bands store potential energy similar to a bow and arrow, where, upon release, allows a conversion of potential energy to be converted into kinetic energy of the projectile and sling as the resilient bands draw back toward the cradle.
While slingshots allow for the removal of the shaft from the projectile, thus allowing for increasing the draw length, and associated power, they also have limitations which cause problems with accuracy and repeatability. Examples of some such limitations include the fact that the sling or pouch which carries the projectile can potentially envelop and interfere with the projectile upon release. Additionally, the geometry and holding positions of the sling and cradle upon draw is typically not as consistent between shots as a bow and arrow. As such, slingshots tend to be less accurate.